Pellegrini under pressure as Hammers host Liverpool

West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini is a man under pressure as his side host title-chasing Liverpool for a Premier League match at London Stadium on Monday, 4 February 2019, kick-off at 22h00 CAT.

West Ham come into the clash
on the back of a 3-0 defeat away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night, a
result which has left them outside of the top half of the table.

The Hammers fans are an unhappy bunch at the moment, angered by a run of three straight defeats across all competitions – including an embarrassing loss to lower league AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup last weekend – as well as the saga over striker Marko Arnautovic.

The Austrian striker
appeared to be agitating for a move to China, before signing a contract
extension with United, which was announced in bizarre fashion immediately after
their loss to Wimbledon. Arnautovic compounded his troubles by suffering a foot
injury at Wolves which could rule him out of Monday’s clash.

Liverpool had a productive midweek despite being held 1-1 at home by Leicester City. Sadio Mane’s early goal was cancelled out by Harry Maguire as the Foxes frustrated Jurgen Klopp’s team at Anfield.

However, the result still
saw the Reds extend their lead at the top of the table to five points, as
nearest chasers Manchester City suffered a surprise 2-1 loss away to Newcastle
United the day before. Not taking full advantage of the Citizens’ slip will
have been a disappointment, but ‘Pool remain completely in charge of the title
race.

West Ham v Liverpool – Head-to-head, Premier League

In head-to-head stats, West
Ham and Liverpool have met in 45 Premier League matches. The Reds have claimed
27 wins compared to nine for the Hammers, while nine games have been drawn.

The teams’ most recent meeting was a Premier League clash at Anfield in August 2018 which Liverpool won 4-0, thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane (two) and Daniel Sturridge. It was a fourth successive win over West Ham for the Reds, who have racked up 16 goals in the sequence.